Double bubble single card package



April 7, 1964 Q PHIPPS 3,127,993

DOUBLE BUBBLE SINGLE CARD PACKAGE Filed May 3, 1962 2 Sheet$Sheet '1 Inventor Cornelius M.Phi s p fimn d 2.1 2' '53 VM 7 ornegs April 7, 1964 c. M. PHIPPS 3,127,993

DOUBLE BUBBLE SINGLE CARD PACKAGE Filed May 3, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 33" I I Q} i I I 5 F I i Q E i\ K 1}! s H s R I i K :n 62 56 35 Inventor Cornelius M. Phipps United States Patent 3,127,993 DOUBLE BUBBLE SINGLE CARD PACKAGE Cornelius M. Phipps, 511 N. Stoddard, Wheaten, Ill. Filed May 3, H62, Ser. No. 192,236 13 Claims. (Cl. 266-43) The present invention relates to a display package and to an item of manufacture employed in the production of such a package.

Particularly with relatively inexpensive items the packaging cost is a significant element in the sales price. In many instances a penny or a small fraction thereof, can be the determining factor as to whether or not the manufacturer has a profit or loss. At the same time, the products must be attractively packaged in most instances. This is particularly true of self-service items or objects that are positioned on convenient display racks, etc., to induce impulse sales. In these areas any cost cutting which impairs the pleasing and attractive appearance of the product and its package is self defeating. It is elemental that a sale must be made before anyone can make a profit on the item.

My invention is particularly directed to the production of product packages of the type wherein the product is enclosed within a transparent plastic bubble mounted on a display card. Employing my invention a package of this type can be produced which is fully as attractive as those presently being used, if not more so. At the same time, significant savings in packaging cost are achieved. These savings can result both from a saving in material cost, as well as a saving in labor. My invention facilitates the use of automatic machinery and to the extent that such is employed advantages including monetary savings are achieved.

In some prior art packages a card is folded over (or two cards employed) with the heat-scalable coatings of both sides adjacent each other. The plastic holders were provided with flanges that were sealed between the double card thus formed. With my invention there is not only an obvious material savings, but also a reduction in labor cost in the formation of the package. In addition, the plastic coating being on the face of the card enhances its appearance.

Other objects and advantages of my invention include: embodiments of my invention are particularly adaptable to the packaging of irregularly shaped objects; product packaged in accordance with my invention can be viewed from either side of the card which forms a part of the package; utilization of my invention can provide a simple and inexpensive package which alternatively may be displayed in easel fashion, or upon a hanging display rack, etc.; and utilizing features of my invention the manufacturer is able to obtain a better quantity control (inventory balance) of the plastic parts and not end up with an insufficient number of one type of parts to meet the requirements for the consumption of another of the types of plastic parts.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the transparent plastic members employed to hold the object to be packaged;

FIGURE 2 is an elevation of the members of FIG- URE 1 after folding together;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a package produced in accordance with my invention and utilizing the plastic holding members of FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a partial section as viewed along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view of the card employed in the package of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view of a different package produced in accordance with my invention, with portions broken away; and

FIGURE 7 is a vertical section through another alternative embodiment illustrating additional features of my invention.

FIGURES 1 through 5 illustrate an embodiment, and portions thereof, used to form a package for a rubber faucet aerator generally 10. The package is formed of a display card generally 11 and a pair of holding members generally 12 and I3.

Card 11 is formed of cardboard and has a bell-shaped opening 15 therein. Opening 15 intersects the bottom edge 16 of the card as best seen in FIGURE 5. The front face 17 of the card bears the usual labeling indicia, brand name, etc., not shown. Face 17 has a coating of a heat-sealable material, e.g. heat-sealable plastic, thereover. This coating may be a laminate, a spray or painted finish, etc.

The coating on face 17 basically serves as a foundation for easily afiixing the holding members to the card. In this respect only one face of the card need have such a coating. In addition, the coating on the front face 17 provides an attractive sheen which gives the package a finished appearance, and admirably sets off the labeling indicia appearing on the front face of the card.

One or more openings 19 may be provided at the top of the card to facilitate hanging the card on a display rack or the like. It might be mentioned that the specific external configuration of the card illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 5, is only for the purposes of illustration and the exact proportions and dimensions will depend upon sales, etc., preferences. The shape of the opening 15 will primarily be dictated by the configuration of the object to be packaged.

Holding members 12 and 13 are formed as a single unit as best illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2. They are formed from a sheet of a heat-scalable plastic, e.g. polyvinyl chloride. Along one side the two members are joined at a fold line 21. The remaining three sides of member 12 are defined by flanges 22. The remaining three sides of member 13 are defined by flanges 23. Intermediate flanges 22, member 12 defines a bubble 24. A similar bubble 25 is defined by member 13 within the peripheral flanges 23. A sheet of heat-scalable plastic may be molded, as by means of heat and a die, to the described configuration.

To assemble the package the two members 12 and 13 are folded together as illustrated in FIGURE 2, with the article to be packaged, e.g. aerator 1i), confined within the cavity defined by the two bubbles 24 and 25. Flanges 22 and 23 are placed in juxtaposition to front face 17 of card 11. With the application of heat and pressure flanges 22 and 23 are secured together and both are secured to face 17 of the card. Means for performing such sealing operations are well known in the art. Flanges 22 are secured to approximately the area of the face 17 of card 11, between the boundaries of opening 15 and dotted line 26 in FIGURE 5. Flanges 23 are secured to that portion of the face of the card between boundary line 26 and boundary line 27.

The finished package thus formed is attractive in appearance. Aerator 10 may be viewed from either side of card I1 since bubble 24 extends through opening 15 in the card. The card may be hung on a display rack by means of opening 19. Alternatively, the card may be "displayed in easel fashion, standing on bottom edge 16 and being propped upright by the foot which is formed by the bottom 29 of bubble 24.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 6 there is a card 32 having a front face 33 coated with a heat-scalable material. A pair of hanging openings 2 are provided adjacent the top of card 32, An opening 35 is provided within the edges of the card to receive the object holding cavity. Two separate holding members 37 and 38 are affixed to face 33 to secure a wire beater or whipper 39 within the package thus formed. Holding member 37 has peripheral flanges 4i) within which is a large bubble 4-1 about the convoluted end of whipper 39, and a small bubble 42 about the handle of the whipper 39. Holding member 38 has peripheral flanges 43 within the confines of which is a bubble 44. Bubble 4 projects through opening 35 in the card. Flanges 43 surround that opening and are secured to face 33 of the card. Flanges 40 are secured to flanges 43 as well as to face 33 of the card.

The embodiment of FIGURE 6 is advantageous for various types of objects. However, it has disadvantages not found in the embodiment of FIGURES 15. In the first place, the two members 37 and 33 are separate from each other. A manufacturer may have dificulty in maintaining an inventory balance between the number of members 37 on hand and the number of members 38 on hand. Secondly, a package of the type illustrated in FIGURE 6 is not inherently adapted to be displayed in easel fashion. A cardboard foot or the like could be provided on card 32, but this would require additional operations as well as certain other disadvantages that are inherent in the use of cardboard feet on a display card. Also with the two halves being formed as a single unit there is an automatic orientation of the two holding members.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 7 there is a card generally 50 having a hanging opening 51 centered above the opening 52 for receiving the product (not illustrated) and the bubble 53 of the holding member generally 54. Holding member 54 has flanges 55 about three sides of bubble 53. At the fourth side, along fold line 56, member 54- is joined with the second holding member 57. Holding member 37 has a bubble S and peripheral flanges 59 about three sides of the bubble. The front face 6% of card St) has a heat-sealable coating thereover with flanges 55 and 59 being secured to each other and to the coating on face 6% in the same manner as is employed in the embodiment of FEGURES 1-5. Bubbles 53 and 53 define an approximately spherical cavity to receive a unit of product therein. For example, a tennis ball (not shown) might be received in the package illustrated in FIGURE 7.

Rearwardly of the back face 61 of card 5 .1 bubble 53 defines a downwardly projecting foot 62. Foot 62 is slightly above the bottom edge of card 5%) (not shown but approximately linear with fold line se of card 5%. The foot lies in a plane approximately normal to the bottom edge of the card. Thus, the package of FIGURE 7 may be displayed on a hanging rack or in easel fashion.

The term unit of product as used herein can identify a plurality of objects which are to be enclosed in a single package within the cavity defined by the bubbles of the two holding members. It also can refer to the single objects such as the aerator of FIGURE 3 or the whipper of FIGURE 6. As illustrated in FIGURE 5 the opening through the card (opening in card Till) can have one side thereof coextensive with an edge of the card. Alternatively, the opening through the card can be completely within the confines of the edges of the card as is opening 35 in card 32 of FIGURE 6.

The foregoing description of specific embodiments is for the purpose of complying with 35 USC 112 and should not be construed as imposing unnecessary limitations upon the appended claims. Modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art or subsequently devised by them. For example, while there are advantages in forming the holding members in a single piece as illustrated in FIGURES l and 7, in some instances a manufacturer may prefer not to do this. For

example, in FEGURE 7, a tennis ball could be securely held within the package defined even though the two holding members 54 and 57 were not joined together along fold line 55.

I claim:

1. A sales display package for a unit of product, said package comprising: a display card having an opening therethrough; and a unit holder comprising a first transparent plastic sheet across said opening, said first sheet having flanges afiixed to the portion of one face of the card immediately adjacent said opening, a second transparent plastic sheet across said first sheet and having flanges larger than the flanges of the first sheet and affixed to the flanges of the first sheet and to portions of said one face of the card surrounding the portions to which the flanges of the first sheet are alfixed, at said opening said two sheets being spaced from each other to define a space for receiving said unit.

2. A package as set forth in claim 1, wherein each plastic sheet defines a bubble with the bubble of the first sheet extending through said opening.

3. A package as set forth in claim 1, wherein said opening intersects an edge of said card, and said two sheets are joined together along a line approximately coextensive with said edge of the card.

4. A package as set forth in claim 3, wherein the opening is at the bottom edge of the card, and the first sheet defines a downwardly extending foot rearwardly of the opposite face of the card from said one face.

5. A package as set forth in claim 1, wherein said opening is surrounded by said card.

6. A package as set forth in claim 5 wherein said flanges completely surround said opening.

7. An item of manufacture for use in packaging a unit of product, said item comprising: a card having two faces with an opening therebetween, said card having a coating of a heat-sealable material covering one of said faces; and a unit holder including two unit retaining members, said members being formed of a heat-scalable plastic, a first of said members having a flange about at least three sides thereof, said flange being the same general configuration as said opening somewhat larger than said opening, the second of the members having a flange about at least the same three sides thereof, said flange of the second member being larger than the flange of the first member, one of said members having a unit receiving cavity bounded by the flanges thereof; whereby the unit may be inserted into said cavity and, with said flanges in juxtaposition, the flange of the first member sealed to said face about said opening and the flange of the second member sealed to the flange of the first member and to portions of the face surrounding the flange of the first member.

8. An item of manufacture for use in packaging a unit of product, said item comprising: a card having two faces with an opening therebetween, said card having a coating of a heat-scalable material covering the front face thereof; and a unit holder including a heat-sealable plastic sheet having a fold line transversely thereof to define a retaining member at each side of said line, a first of said members having a flange about at least three sides thereof, said flange being the same general configuration as said opening and somewhat larger than said opening, the second of the members having a flange about at least the same three sides thereof, said flange of the second memher being larger than the flange of the first member, one of said members having a unit receiving cavity bounded by the flanges thereof; whereby the unit may be inserted into said cavity and, with said flanges in juxtaposition, the flange of the first member sealed to said face about said opening and the flange of the second member sealed to the flange of the first member and to portions of the face surrounding the flange of the first member.

9. An item for manufacture for use in packaging a unit of product, said item comprising: a card having two faces with an opening therebetween, said card having a coating of a heat-scalable material covering the front face thereof; and a unit holder including a heat-sealable plastic sheet having a fold line transversely thereof to define a retaining member at each side of said line, said line defining one side of each of said members, said members having flanges about the periphery of the other three sides thereof, the flanges of a first member being smaller than the flanges of the second member, one of said members having a unit receiving cavity bounded by the flanges thereof; whereby the unit may be inserted into said cavity and, with said flanges in juxtaposition, the flange of the first member sealed to said face about said opening and the flange of the second member sealed to the flange of the first member and to portions of the face surrounding the flange of the first member.

10. An item for manufacture for use in packaging a unit of product, said item comprising: a card having two faces with an opening therebetween, said card having a coating of a heat-sealable material covering the front face thereof; and a unit holder including a heat-sealable plastic sheet having a fold line transversely thereof to define a retaining member at each side of said line, said line defining one side of each of said members, said members having flanges about the periphery of the other three sides thereof, the flanges of a first member being smaller than the flanges of the second member, each of said members defining a bubble between said line and the three flanges of the member; whereby the unit may be inserted into said cavity and, with said flanges in juxtaposition, the flange of the first member sealed to said face about said opening and the flange of the second member sealed to the flange of the first member and to portions of the face surrounding the flange of the first member.

11, An item of manufacture for use in packaging a unit of product, said item comprising: a card having two faces with an opening therebetween, said card having a coating of a heat-sealable material covering the front face thereof; and a unit holder including a heat-sealable plastic sheet having a fold line transversely thereof to define a retaining member at each side of said line, said line defining one side of each of said members, said members having flanges about the periphery of the other three sides thereof, the flanges of a first member being smaller than the flanges of the second member, said first member defining a foot positioned between the flanges and spaced from the plane thereof, said foot being approximately in a second plane in which said line falls and normal to the plane of the flanges, one of said members having a unit receiving cavity bounded by the flanges thereof; whereby the unit may be inserted into said cavity and, with said flanges in juxtaposition, the flange of the first member sealed to said face about said opening and the flange of the second member sealed to the flange of the first member and to portions of the face surrounding the flange of the first member.

12. An item of manufacture for use in packaging a unit of product, said item comprising: a unit holder including a heat-sealable plastic sheet having a fold line transversely thereof to define a retaining member at each side of said line, said line defining one side of each of said members, said members having flanges about the periphery of the other three sides thereof, the flanges of a first member being smaller than the flanges of the second member, one of said members having a unit receiving cavity bounded by the flanges thereof.

13. An item of manufacture for use in packaging a unit of product, said item comprising: a unit holder in cluding a heat-sealable plastic sheet having a fold line transversely thereof to define a retaining member at each side of said line, said line defining one side of each of said members, said members having flanges about the periphery of the other three sides thereof, the flanges of a first member being smaller than the flanges of the second member, said first member defining a foot positioned between the flanges and spaced from the plane thereof, said foot approximately in a second plane in which said line falls and normal to the plane of the flanges, one of said members having a unit receiving cavity bounded by the flanges thereof.

Publication: Modern Packaging, March 1959, pp. 84- 85. 

1. A SALES DISPLAY PACKAGE FOR A UNIT OF PRODUCT, SAID PACKAGE COMPRISING: A DISPLAY CARD HAVING AN OPENING THERETHROUGH; AND A UNIT HOLDER COMPRISING A FIRST TRANSPARENT PLASTIC SHEET ACROSS SAID OPEINING, SAID FIRST SHEET HAVING FLANGES AFFIXED TO THE PORTION OF ONE FACE OF THE CARD IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT SAID OPENING, A SECOND TRANSPARENT PLASTIC SHEET ACROSS SAID FIRST SHEET AND HAVING FLANGES LARGER THAN THE FLANGES OF HTE FIRST SHEET AND AFFIXED TO THE FLANGES OF THE FIRST SHEET AND TO PORTIONS OF SAID ONE FACE OF THE CARD SURROUNDIGN THE PORTIONS TO WHICH THE FLANGES OF THE FIRST SHEET ARE AFFIXED, AT SAID OPENING SAID TWO SHEETS BEING SPACED FROM EACH OTHER TO DEFINE A SPACE FOR RECEIVING SAID UNIT. 